Once CBBC’s edgier and more chaotic cousin, CITV took a less educational tone than its cleaner counterpart, combatting charity driven shows like Blue Peter with sketch comedy shows like SM:TV Live.

Although many of CITV's most popular shows will remain available to watch on its new designated corner of ITVX, let us take a look back on the most iconic shows from their 40 years of programming...

SM:TV Live

Ant and Dec’s biggest export since Byker Grove, SM:TV Live (or Saturday Morning Television Live) cemented their standing as a comedy double act, with Cat Deeley (So You Think You Can Dance) acting as the two’s sidekick. The series was comprised of sketches such as the Friends parody Chums, challenges, and celebrity guests like Posh Spice and Martine McCutcheon.

My Parents Are Aliens

The sitcom's surrealist and vaguely mature humour may have been helped along by a pre-Peep Show Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong in the show’s writing room. My Parents are Aliens starred Tony Gardner (Fresh Meat) and Carla Mendonça (So Awkward) as the titular alien parents who recently adopted three orphans. The two had to disguise their true identities at the risk of having the bereft lose a second round of parents.

Art Attack

Host Neil Buchanan was recently forced to deny he was Banksy, and with his set of DIY activities for children, it’s not hard to see why. Art Attack showed kids there is no limit to what you can make with papier-mâché and a balloon, from pet monsters and dream islands, to tiny versions of themselves.

Horrid Henry

Horrid Henry was a primary schooler with a bit of an impulse control problem. His alliterative enemies Moody Margaret, Sour Susan and Perfect Peter infuriated him, and often led him into some sticky situations due to their ‘smelly nappy baby’ behaviour. Luckily Henry had his ‘purple hand gang’ to back him up, banded together by their motto: ‘down with girls!’

Sooty

Sooty the bear/glove puppet has had a 75-year career, first appearing in 1948 on the BBC. CITV acquired Sooty when he was in his early 20s in 1968, and he remained there until 2004 as the star in several different shows: The Sooty Show, Sooty & Co, Sooty Heights, and Sooty. Across all the Sooty iterations, two things have remained consistent: his selective muteness and his penchant for magic tricks, which led to his induction into the magic circle in 2017.

Jungle Run

A team of kids are welcomed to a game show in the ‘Jungle’, facing challenges such as collecting monkey statues in increasingly unusual scenarios: a labyrinth, hanging in a harness above a swamp, diving underwater. Each monkey statue equals more time in the Temple of the Monkey King where, after facing the final challenge, winning teams would leave empty handed but filled with pride - and presumably some street cred in the school playground.

Mr Bean

The animated continuation of Rowan Atkinson’s beloved live action series, the cartoon was created by Blackadder writing duo Atkinson and Richard Curtis. Like his live action equivalent, Mr Bean is, to put it simply, a bit of a nincompoop. Attempting to navigate his way around London, he often finds unusual ways to get himself into trouble, alongside his faithful companion Teddy.

Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids

Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids was essentially an early introduction to the horror genre for children. Each episode began with a single unspeaking child entering the Squeam Screen Cinema, and the Squeam Screen Caretaker showing a series of short films designed to make him, and the audience at home, revaluate all 9-11 years of their life choices.

Rainbow

Rainbow featured three puppets, Zippy, George and Bungle, and a human Geoffrey Hayes (Z-Cars). At the start of each episode, trouble would arise in the rainbow house where they all reside, and it would be up to Geoffrey to solve the problem, and of course send out a strong moral message.

Danger Mouse

Danger Mouse (David Jason, Only Fools and Horses), so named because he is a mouse who constantly finds himself in peril, is one of Britain’s finest fictional secret service agents. He has saved the world countless times from pending atrocities such as exploding custard, a Barry Manilow museum and hundreds of clones of his right-hand hamster, Penfold (Terry Scott, Carry On films).